Paper containers



March 22, 1955 E. F. ANDRE ET AL MACHINES FOR APPLYING CLOSURES TO PAPER CONTAINERS Filed June 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 "March 22, 1955 E. F. ANDRE ETAL 2,704,629

MACHINES FOR APPLYING CLOSURES TO PAPER CONTAINERS Filed June 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5% BY W ATTORNEY United States Patent MACHINES FOR APPLYING CLOSURES TO PAPER CONTAINERS Eugene F. Andre, Elmhurst, N. Y., and Charles L. Metzler, Palisades Park, N. J., assignors to Dixie Cup Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application June 24, 1952, Serial No. 295,182

4 Claims. (Cl. 226-92) This invention relates to a machine for applying or securing paper caps or disks to paper containers.

It has been found that paper disks or caps can be most easily and securely seated when they are applied to the container mechanically or by mechanical means in a manner similar to the manual application thereof, namely, by first depressing one edge portion to a position near the container groove in which the disk is to be seated and thereafter, in a continuing operation, depressing the remainder of the disk to fully seat the disk in the groove.

This invention has for its salient object to provide a simple and practical device for positioning a disk above a container and thereafter, in a continuous operation, positively depressing the disk, first in a tilted position, and thereafter to full seated position, in the container.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described that comprises a minimum number of parts and is economical to manufacture.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specification taken in connection with the drawings which form a part of this application, and in which Fig. 1 is a vertical, sectional elevation through a device constructed in accordance with the invention, the operating mechanism being shown in the position in which a disk has been fed to a position over the container, prior to the depression thereof;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation similar to Fig. 1 but showing the lever for depressing the disk into the container in its medial position in which the depressing plate is about to engage the disk and force the rear end portion of the disk downwardly into the container;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation showing the parts in the position in which the lever and depressing plate have depressed the rear end of the disk into the container to a position near the container groove in which the disk is to be seated;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the disk seating member fully depressed and the disk in full seated position, this view being taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional elevation taken substantially on line 55 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the upper frame member which supports the disk hopper tube and supports the disk prior to its feeding movement into the container; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged plan view of one corner of the plate or member shown in Fig. 6 illustrating one of the springs for supporting the disk prior to its depression into the container.

In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the device has a base 10 provided with a support or platform 11 for supporting the containers C to be capped. The base 10 extends upwardly and on the upper surface thereof there is mounted a frame member or plate 12 having an arcuate upwardly extending portion 13 which encloses and supports a hopper tube 14 in which are mounted the disks D to be secured in the container. The disks D are supported on surfaces 15 and 16 formed on the plate 12 and the tube 14 rests on these surfaces. The surfaces 15 and 16 are divided by a slot 17 through which the upper end 20 of an L-shaped lever 21 projects. The lever 21 is mounted on a pin 22 and the other arm 23 of the lever projects rearwardly of the pin.

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The upper end of the arm 20 has a notch 25 forwardly of which projects the free end 26 of the arm, and rearwardly of the notch there is formed a substantially fiat surface 27. The arm 20 also has an offset or proectlng portion 28 which, by its engagement with the rear wall 29 of the cup support, limits the anticlockwise movement of the lever, looking at Figs. 1, 2 and 4. A coil spring 30 is mounted on the pin 22 and has one end fixed and the other end engaging the hub 31 of the lever, the spring tending to move the lever 21 about its pivot in an anticlockwise direction.

The position of the lever 21 is determined by a leg 35 which is secured at its upper end to the rear end portion 36 of a frame 37 which is pivoted at 38 to rear end portions 39 and 40 of the frame member or plate 12. A spring 45 is secured at 46 to the rear wall of the cup support and is secured at its other end at 47 to the leg 35. This spring tends to raise the frame 37 to the position shown in Fig. l, and when the frame is so raised the lower end of the leg 35 will extend into a depressed or arcuate portion 48 of the lever arm 23, permitting the spring 30 to actuate the lever 21 from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 1 and to thereby engage and feed the bottom disk D in the stack of disks in the hopper 14 from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 1 above the upper end of the container C. Attention is called to the fact that this feeding movement of the disk to a position above the container takes place when the disk depressing frame and plate carried thereby move to their upper or inoperative position.

When the disk has been fed to the position shown in Fig. 1 above the opening 50 in the frame 12, the disk will be supported at its rear edge portion on projections 51 and 52 extending into the opening from the portions or surfaces 15 and 16. The front edge portion of the disk will be supported on the inner ends of a pair of spring fingers 53 and 54 which extend into the opening 50.

The pivoted frame 37 has an opening 55 which receives the hopper tube 14 and at the front end of the opening 55 there is mounted beneath the plate a downwardly extending crescent-shaped disk feeding member 56 having on its lower end a crescent-shaped feeding plate 57. The feeding plate 57 is substantially parallel to the upper surface of the frame 37 and when the frame is in its elevated position the crescent-shaped feeding plate 57 partially encircles the tube 14. The central inner portion of the feeding plate 57 is recessed, as shown at 58, to receive an arcuate projecting portion 59 formed on the feeding tube 14, this arcuate projecting portion being provided to receive the tabs on the disks when disks of this character are used in the device.

When the disk D has been fed to the position shown in Fig. 1 upon the upward movement of the pivoted frame 37, the disk is in a position to be depressed into the container and into the container groove 60 formed in the upper end portion of the container wall when such a groove is provided. The pivoted frame 37 is then depressed or moved in an anticlockwise direction and, as shown in Fig. 2, the end portions of the crescent-shaped plate 57 first engage the disk edges in the rear of the central portion of the disk. This causes the rear edge portion of the disk to be depressed, releasing it from the supports 51 and 52 and causing the rear edge portion to be pushed downwardly into the container to a position in or near the rear portion of the groove 60, as shown in the fragmentary view in Fig. 3. Thereafter, the continued depression of the frame 37 will cause the portion of the disk supported on the spring fingers 53 and 54 to be pushed downwardly and released from the spring fingers until the disk is fully seated, as shown in Fig. 4.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that simple, practical, and efficient mechanical means has been provided for simulating the manual manipulation of a closure disk in which the disk is first depressed at one edge and is thereafter fully seated in the container or container groove.

Although one specific embodiment of the invention has been particularly shown and described it will be understood that the invention is capable of modification and that changes in the construction and in the arrangement of the various cooperating parts may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, as expressed in the following claims.

What we claim is:

l. A container capping device comprising means for supporting a container, a hopper for supporting disks, means for feeding the disks, one at a time, from the hopper to a position above the container, a pivoted frame, and means depending from the frame for depressing the disk from a position above the container into seating position therein, said depending means being rigidly connected to said frame and having portions engageable first with rear edge portions of the disk whereby the disk will be first tilted downwardly at the rear into the container and will thereafter, by continued movement of the frame, be completely seated in the container.

2. A container capping device comprising means for supporting a container, a hopper for supporting disks, means for feeding the disks, one at a time, from the hopper to a position above the container, means including releasable fingers for supporting the disk above the container, at pivoted frame, and means rigidly connected to the frame and depending therefrom for depressing the disk from a position above the container into seating position therein, said means having portions engageable first with rear edge portions of the disk whereby the disk will be first tilted downwardly at the rear into the container and will thereafter, by continued movement of the frame, be completely seated in the container.

3. A container capping device comprising means for supporting a container, a hopper for supporting disks, means for feeding the disks, one at a time, from the hopper to a position above the container, and pivoted means, movable downwardly, for engaging the disk and pressing the disk into seated position, said means including a presser plate rigidly connected to and extending below the downwardly movable pivoted means and movable initially at an angle against the disk whereby one edge portion of the disk will be first depressed and thereafter the disk will be fully seated in the container.

4. A container capping device comprising means for supporting a container, a hopper for supporting disks, means for feeding the disks, one at a time, from the hopper to a position above the container, pivoted means, movable downwardly, for engaging the disk and pressing the disk into seated position, said means including a presser plate rigidly connected to and extending below the downwardly movable pivoted means and movable initially at an angle against the disk whereby one edge portion of the disk will be first depressed and thereafter the disk will be fully seated in the container, and means actuated upon the movement of the pivoted means to inoperative position for feeding a disk to a position above the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,125,041 Beadle Jan. 19, 1915 1,260,220 Lundeen Mar. 19, 1918 2,088,010 Petersen July 27, 1937 

